


Vodka is bad.

by Pixelatrix



Series: The Hacker [2]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Drunken Teenagers, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-14
Updated: 2014-05-14
Packaged: 2018-01-24 20:23:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1615910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pixelatrix/pseuds/Pixelatrix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fia and Eddie learn why Vodka is bad.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Vodka is bad.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for the kudos, comments and subscriptions. It's like candy for a writer. =) It keeps me fueled to write more lol.
> 
> Hope you enjoy.
> 
> Bioware Owns all Sadly.
> 
> Magical Betas: CelticGrace & MissMeggo929

_From: James Stevens_

_To: Steven Hackett_

_Subj: The Kids._

_Edward just stumbled into the house drunk. Fia was not with him. He mumbled something about her going home and then fell face-first onto the couch._

_Now I don’t know where they got the hooch, but I would guess the Shepard boy had something to do with it._

_I’d wager Fia’s on her way home._

_Were you this much trouble at eighteen? I sure as hell was._

_James_

* * *

 

Hackett was just about to go looking for his wayward teenager when Fia crawled into the apartment. He leaned against the back of the couch to watch her make her way across the floor. She mumbled to herself as she tried to get to her feet. He thought she was saying something about not waking him up.

“ _Ofelia_.”

“Shit.” She sat back on her heels and craned her head around trying to find him. “Was…the room…whoa.”

“Eloquent.”

Deciding it was better to deal with her sober; Hackett helped her to her room. Fia seemed very confused by his reading glasses. She kept trying to grab them and ended up poking him repeatedly in the side of the head. He set her down on her bed.

She continued to mutter about something. Hackett frowned when he realized she was getting angry. He jerked back in surprise when her toy cruiser hit the wall behind him. He walked over to pick it up.

“ _Ofelia Marie Hackett.”_ He spun around to face his daughter who was now standing in the middle of the room.

“What. Is. Wrong. With. Me?” Her voice cracked on the last word. She struck his chest with her fists when he moved closer. “Just like her.”

“What…” He didn’t get to finish his sentence as Fia was suddenly and _violently_ ill all over herself. “Damn it, kid.”

By the time the mess was cleaned up, Fia had moved from angry to sleepy. She crawled on top of her covers and started snoring almost immediately. Hackett left her to sleep off the alcohol. He sat on the couch with her little cruiser in his hand.

His greatest fear for Fia had always been her showing signs of the addiction that plagued her mother. Hackett set the cruiser on the coffee table. He pulled up his omni-tool to send a quick message to Eddie’s dad to let him know his daughter had arrived home safely. He asked him to find out from Eddie once he was sober what had prompted the kids to drink.

* * *

 

_From: Eddie_

_To: Fia_

_Subj: The Hell?_

_What the hell was that about last night?_

_My head is killing me. And I’m grounded, and I’m fairly certain my dad is banging every single item in the house against the wall just to make my head hurt worse. Cruel man. He won’t even let me take aspirin._

_I tried explaining to my dad that you can’t ground an eighteen year old. He yelled. Loudly._

_Shep is on my shit list for bringing the vodka._

_Eddie_

_P.S. Want to go to the movies with me?_

* * *

 

Fia tiptoed out of her bedroom to sneak into the kitchen for pain meds. She hesitated at the end of the hallway when she spotted her dad on the couch. He was talking to someone on his omni-tool. She couldn’t tell who it was. She was about to start back to her room when she heard her name.

The voice on the comm sounded like David Anderson, her dad’s husband. Anderson was currently stationed on some Alliance vessel. She frowned when her Dad mentioned her coming in drunk.

“What the hell am I going to do if she’s got Patricia’s addiction problem?” Her Dad’s voice sounded pained. “I will _not_ let her ruin herself. I won’t do it. I won’t watch her mind waste away in a drugged haze. She is such a smart kid with so much potential.”

“Has it occurred to you that she’s also eighteen? It’s possible the kids were getting into trouble and a bottle of vodka happened to be the trouble. It doesn’t mean she’s suddenly an alcoholic bound to start doing dust,” Anderson interrupted.

Fia had already felt like shit when she woke up. Her stomach churned as she thought about all the times her mom had stumbled into their living quarters drunk and high. Fia usually hid in her closet, especially when she brought a _friend_ home.

Her first reaction was to sneak back to her bedroom, pack a bag and run. Fia remembered all the times that Patricia had run away from everything, except the damn red dust. She stared down at the bag she was packing. Tossing it back into the closet, she decided to take Eddie up on his offer of a movie.

She managed to get out of the house without her dad even knowing she’d left. She was regretting skipping breakfast an hour later when Eddie messaged her to let her know he’d be late. She left the theater to find something to eat.

“Shit.” Fia spotted Captain Stevens walking towards her.

Captain Stevens grabbed her by the shoulder and pushed her toward a waiting skycar that immediately took them to the Alliance offices where Hackett was standing in the middle of a group of marines.   He _helped_ her out of the skycar. She stood awkwardly waiting for the Admiral to notice her.

_“Steven.”_

Fia caught a glimpse of her dad’s face as he looked up at the sound of Stevens’ voice. He had his normal Admiral façade, but she saw the disappointment. “I was…just going to the movies.”

“I thought...” Hackett took her by the arm to lead her into a nearby office. “I thought you’d _run_ away. I even had them shut the sky-port just in case.”

“I’m sorry.” Fia rubbed the back of her neck nervously. “I heard you talking this morning, and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten drunk. I usually avoid anything that dims my senses. I don’t like feeling out of control. I just…this kid was…it doesn’t matter.”

“What kid?” Hackett’s eyes narrowed. “Eddie wouldn’t tell us what happened with John Shepard. Would you care to tell me?”

“Not particularly.”

He started to reach out to give her a hug then stopped himself. It was still a little awkward between them at times. “Look, kid, I know the idea of a _parent_ is new for you. Patricia wasn’t anything even close, but…I’m here for you. I know you aren’t your mother.”

“I’m not.” Fia shifted her shoulders to try to ease the tension between them. “I’m trying to do right. What if it’s not enough to try?”

Hackett frowned at her. “Last night, you said something about something being wrong with you. Why would you think something was wrong with you?”

“I…”

“Fia?”

“Shit.” She dropped her head down with a sigh. “It was something Eddie’s friend said when I said I didn’t want a drink. He asked what kind of freak didn’t want a drink at eighteen. So…Eddie and I decided to prove…we were stupid.”

“Yes, you were.” Hackett apparently decided awkwardness was pointless and dragged her into a hug. “You aren’t a freak. Next time, stick to your guns if you don’t want a drink.”

“Okay.”

“And I’ll deal with the Shepard punk.” Hackett led her out of the office. He waved Captain Stevens and his son over. “Why don’t you two go get breakfast and watch a movie? Try to avoid trouble.”

“Yes, Sir,” Eddie nodded.

“What are you going to do?” Fia hesitated.

Hackett glanced back at her from his conversation with Eddie’s Dad. “Pay a little visit to John Shepard.”

“Shit.”

“I’m not letting anyone call my daughter a freak.” He smiled at her then reached into his pocket to retrieve her cruiser. He tossed it over to her. “I think that’s yours.”

“Thanks…Dad.”


End file.
